Last Cab to Darwin

Jeremy Sims

Rex (Michael Caton) is a seventy-year-old
taxi driver who has never travelled anywhere
outside his dusty hometown of Broken Hill,
New South Wales. He lives on his own, sees
his few mates at the local pub, listens to
jazz records, and has the occasional cup of
tea with his more outgoing neighbour, Polly
(Ningali Lawford-Wolf of Rabbit-Proof Fence
and Bran Nue Dae). It's a quiet, somewhat
idle existence until Rex is diagnosed with
terminal stomach cancer and given a few
months to live.

Unwilling to brave the inevitable pain of the
disease, Rex hears of a pioneering physician,
Dr. Farmer (Jacki Weaver), who is championing
voluntary euthanasia up in Darwin,
over 3,000 kilometres from Broken Hill.
Determined to be her test case, he embarks
on an urgent drive north, encountering many
roadblocks — mainly in the form of other
people who, without knowing Rex's circumstances,
want help with their own struggles.

Adapted by writer-director Jeremy Sims
from Reg Cribb's successful stage play, Last
Cab to Darwin moves out of the confines
of the theatre, utilizing the vast and varied
landscapes of Australia to reflect the larger
questions of an unexamined existence. When
Rex departs the protective shell of Broken
Hill for the chance to end his life on his own
terms, life asks for some things in return.

Caton gives a performance of terrific depth
and dimension, particularly when opposite
Mark Coles Smith (Festival 2013 Selection
Around the Block) as Tilly, a sensitive but
aimless young Aboriginal man who looks to
Rex, rightly or wrongly, for wisdom.

The film's engagement with its dynamic
characters leads to some of the most gratifying
final moments to be found onscreen this
year. As Rex himself might say, sometimes it's
the journey, sometimes it's the destination.

CONTEMPORARY WORLD SPEAKERSRobert Steiner, Director of the Fellowships in Global Journalism Program, is a writer and award-winning former foreign correspondent now teaching journalism at the Munk School. He will speak about Last Cab to Darwin in a Q&A session following the second screening of the film. Special thanks to the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs.